The Climate of
Ghana
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Savanna and palm trees in Ghana
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Climate Map
Climate map of Ghana
What is the climate of Ghana like?
Ghana is situated in West Africa with a coastline on the Gulf of Guinea. In area it is about the size of the United Kingdom and extends between 5° and 11°N. It is bordered on the west by Côte d'Ivoire, on the north by Burkina Faso, and on the east by Togo.
Ghana has a tropical climate that is relatively mild for that latitude. The country's warm, humid climate has an average annual temperature of between 26°C and 29°C (79–84°F). Fluctuations in the main elements of temperature, precipitation, and humidity that determine climate are influenced by the movement and interaction of the dry tropical continental air mass, or harmattan, which blows across the Sahara from the northeast, and the opposing tropical maritime, or humid equatorial system. The cycle of the seasons follows the apparent movement of the sun across the equator.
In summer, a warm and humid oceanic air mass intensifies and pushes north across land. A low-pressure belt, or intertropical front, in the air mass brings warm air, rain, and prevailing winds from the southwest. When the sun returns south over the equator, the dry, dusty, tropical continental front, or harmattan, prevails.
The coastal region has two rainy seasons, from April through June and from September to November. There is one local peculiarity about the rainfall in Ghana: rainfall is lower on the coast than it is a short distance inland. This is thought to be a consequence of two local features of the coastline. First, at the time when rainfall is heaviest in much of West Africa a cool current appears on the ocean surface. Second, the coast here follows a direction from west-southwest to east-northeast and is parallel with the prevailing winds. Accra is representative of this drier coastal strip.
| Climate data for Accra (1961–1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 32.1 (89.8) | 32.7 (90.9) | 32.5 (90.5) | 32.2 (90.0) | 31.2 (88.2) | 29.3 (84.7) | 28.5 (83.3) | 28.0 (82.4) | 29.0 (84.2) | 30.5 (86.9) | 31.6 (88.9) | 31.7 (89.1) | 30.8 (87.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 27.3 (81.1) | 27.7 (81.9) | 27.7 (81.9) | 27.7 (81.9) | 27.2 (81.0) | 25.6 (78.1) | 24.4 (75.9) | 24.3 (75.7) | 25.2 (77.4) | 26.0 (78.8) | 27.0 (80.6) | 27.2 (81.0) | 26.4 (79.5) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 23.4 (74.1) | 24.1 (75.4) | 24.1 (75.4) | 24.2 (75.6) | 23.9 (75.0) | 23.1 (73.6) | 22.5 (72.5) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.4 (72.3) | 23.9 (75.0) | 23.5 (74.3) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.4 (74.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 10.9 (0.43) | 21.8 (0.86) | 57.1 (2.25) | 96.8 (3.81) | 131.2 (5.17) | 221.0 (8.70) | 66.0 (2.60) | 28.0 (1.10) | 67.8 (2.67) | 62.4 (2.46) | 27.7 (1.09) | 16.1 (0.63) | 806.8 (31.76) |
| Source: World Meteorological Organization | |||||||||||||
Farther inland rainfall increases. In the northern half of the country there is an increasing tendency for a single rainy season starting in May or June. Squalls occur in the north during March and April, followed by occasional rain until August and September, when the rainfall reaches its peak. Tamale is representative of this region.
| Climate data for Tamale | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 35.4 (95.7) | 36.9 (98.4) | 37.1 (98.8) | 35.4 (95.7) | 33.6 (92.5) | 31.1 (88.0) | 29.8 (85.6) | 29.2 (84.6) | 29.9 (85.8) | 32.2 (90.0) | 34.8 (94.6) | 34.9 (94.8) | 33.4 (92.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 27.9 (82.2) | 30.1 (86.2) | 30.9 (87.6) | 29.8 (85.6) | 28.6 (83.5) | 26.8 (80.2) | 26.0 (78.8) | 25.8 (78.4) | 25.9 (78.6) | 27.3 (81.1) | 28.2 (82.8) | 27.5 (81.5) | 27.9 (82.2) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 20.4 (68.7) | 22.8 (73.0) | 24.6 (76.3) | 24.6 (76.3) | 23.6 (74.5) | 22.5 (72.5) | 22.1 (71.8) | 21.9 (71.4) | 21.8 (71.2) | 21.9 (71.4) | 21.6 (70.9) | 20.3 (68.5) | 22.3 (72.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 4 (0.2) | 12 (0.5) | 48 (1.9) | 88 (3.5) | 112 (4.4) | 146 (5.7) | 142 (5.6) | 198 (7.8) | 231 (9.1) | 92 (3.6) | 14 (0.6) | 3 (0.1) | 1,090 (42.9) |
| Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst | |||||||||||||
As a consequence of the lower rainfall and less cloud, Accra is rather sunnier than many other places on the West African coast; hours of sunshine average about five a day during the rainy season and as much as seven to eight hours during the drier months. Sunshine hours are reduced in the wetter districts inland but increase again in the drier regions of northern Ghana.
The harmattan, which is a dry desert wind, blows from the northeast from December to March, lowering the humidity and causing hot days and cool nights in the north; the effect of this wind is felt in the south during January. In most areas, temperatures are highest in March and lowest in August. Variation between day and night temperatures is relatively small, but greater in the north, especially in January, because of the harmattan. No temperature lower than 10°C (50°F) has ever been recorded in Ghana.
Temperatures are typically high throughout the country at any time of the year. Temperatures are more comfortable at higher altitudes. In the far north, maximum temperatures of 32°C (90°F) are common. The south of the country is characterized by generally humid conditions. This is especially true during the night when 95 to 100 percent humidity is possible. Humid conditions also prevail in the north of the country during the rainy season. However, during the harmattan season, humidity in the north drops to as low as 25 percent.
References
- E. A. Pearce, Charles Gordon Smith, (1990) The Hutchinson World Weather Guide, John Murray Press. ISBN 1859863426
- Timothy L. Gall, (ed.), (2003), Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, Eleventh Edition, Thomson Gale
- Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, (1995), Ghana: a country study. Claitor's Pub. Division. ISBN 0844408352
- Hugh Chisholm, (ed.), (1911), Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh edition, Cambridge University Press
The Climate of
Ghana
In summary:
Ghana has a tropical climate that is relatively mild for that latitude. The harmattan, a dry desert wind, blows from the northeast from December to March, lowering the humidity and causing hot days and cool nights in the north. Average temperatures range from 21°C to 31°C (70 to 90°F).
Except in the north, there are two rainy seasons: April through June and September through November. Squalls occur in the north during March and April, followed by occasional rain until August and September, when the rainfall reaches its peak. Annual rainfall ranges from 800 to 2200 mm (31 to 87 in).